Stanthorpe, Ballandean & Thulimbah

 

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When you have a Cyclone in the vacinity and are going stir crazy from hunkering down inside a small caravan....  what do you do?

EAT.

More about that soon.

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STANTHORPE HOLIDAY PARK

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We had to come inland to get away from Cyclone Alfred.  It's a big disruption to change plans, but we avoided the cyclonic conditions including flooding that hit Grafton, Ballina and other bush camps that we were going to enjoy.  Instead we opted for safe caravan parks which put a big dent in the budget.  Thank goodness I am working one day a week so that we can cover extra unplanned expenses.

So after a short stay in Glen Innes and meet up with our son Dylan who is heading from Western Australia to Brisbane to start a new life and we headed straight for Stanthorpe as it is very high up to avoid potential heavy rain and flooding that is associated with a very slow moving Cat 2 system. What we didn't count on is that Stanthorpe has very bad internet connection.  We soon became bored in the van.  So what do you do?...  later.

Stanthorpe Holiday Park is just south of town.  It has new owners, Amanda & Blake, who are revamping the existing facilities and making it a naturalistic getaway.  They ship the water in so are conscious of its usage, with $1 showers.  We didn't mind.  Having no dump point though is not a very good drawcard.  They make up for that by offering special little extras at a cost like a couples sauna and massage chairs, dinner for 2, cheese platter, picnic basket or box and firepit & wood hire.  

We had a taste of Amanda & Blake's hospitality when they invited their holiday guests to a free wine & cheese get together to celebrate Cyclone Alfred's bypassing of Stanthorpe.

 

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STANTHORPE INFORMATION CENTRE

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The parks and gardens on the river that runs through town are really inviting.

Stanthorpe Visitor Information Centre is located on the river just before town.  We were greeted by a lovely lady who showed us the best places to visit.  We soon realised that Stanthorpe is more than apples.  It has now become a great vineyard reagon.  We couldn't believe how many wineries have sprung up in this area.  Happy days 😍

This big thermometer is located here.  It is a working thermometer as you can see from the photo below.

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ARRIVING INTO STANTHORPE

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I'M HOME BABY!  

😎

Yep, once a Queenslander, always a QLD'r.  Born and bread in QLD, the draw to your home never leaves you.

Unfortunately, Queensland didn't display the sun that it is well known for.  But never mind, my spirits were not dampened by a little cyclone.  😜

There were no lack of signs to tell you'all that we were leaving NSW behind and coming into QLD.  This area is also known as granite country, so the signs and scenery reflected this too.

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BALLANDEAN

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Stanthorpe itself doesn't really have much going for it.  But travel 20 minutes south or north, and discover a whole stack of things to do.

Ballandean, south is the home of many wineries.  We wanted to have a nice cheese board and savour the local wines.  Hidden Creek Winery looked like just the place.  That was until we rocked up and it was closed.  Do yourself a favour Hidden Creek and don't advertise on Google that you are open, when you are closed.  So we drove back towards the Tavern which looked good as we drove past.

Just before the pub we came across a sign that said Dear Vincent was open.  Who calls their winery Dear Vincent?...  There is  story there, but it still didn't make much sense.  

We met the owner Adam who says on their website -

"Our wines have been designed with sun-soaked long lunches in mind, wines that are fun, slurpable, made to be shared with friends over a long lunch or laughter filled dinner.  All our wines are made with minimal intervention, letting the fruit do the talking, showcasing the year that was."

And that is what we felt.  Adam is a lovely fella who has just purchased the winery and also that Tavern.  He is looking to expand to include flash accommodation including outside bath tubs, medium accommodation and also sites for caravans.  We chatted about all of the great things that he could do to bring people to his new venture.  It was a great experience.  My favourite wine was the white Viognier aptly called "sunshine".  It's the first wine that I have tasted that has a distinct pineapple taste.  Very slurpable as Adam so nicely sums it up.  We will definitely be back.

😍 🍷

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THE BIG UGG BOOT

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This is listed in the Australian Big Things map.

Is it a big thing?  I don't think so.  I was looking for a big ugg boot.

Unfortunately there is only this sign....

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BALLANDEAN TAVERN

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Lunch at Adam's Pub was absolutely awesome!

Our chicken burger had a sauce that was soooo yummy!  Like a creamy sauce with a little BBQ flavour.  Subtle but also packing a puch in flavour.  Mmmm.  The chips were great too and seasoned well.  This was just one of our food experiences in Stanthorpe.

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O'MARA'S HOTEL

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Speaking of our great cullinary experiences in Stanthorpe, O'Mara's is up there too.

I had an amazingly juicy guinnes pie.  The only thing missing is that it wasn't in a ramakin.  I love my gormet pies being presented in a ramakin.  Still, when I punched a hole into my pie, it was so juicy that I could dunk my crispy chips in.  Now that!...  is a great pie!  Mmmmm.

Son Dylan was still with us and he had a viener snitzel that looked pretty good too.  

Hubby enjoyed his pizza which was chocka with the toppings.  

Totally recommend a feed here.

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STANTHORPE SADDLERY

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Kents Saddlery, just north of town looked inviting with it's beautiful looking art work and signature windmill.

When we entered, we were greeted with the scent of leather.  Inside was a smorgasboard of leather goods.  The saddles were beautifully crafted and bags, even for a non-bag loving girl, I was quite taken with them.  And what an array of belts!  Hubby couldn't resist but to purchase one and I was excited with him.

The nice sales lady took us through to the back workshop.  It is huge!  All made from scratch and hand stitched.  Hubby was in heaven, coming from a family history of leather works and bootmaking.

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THULIMBAH

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So Stanthorpe is the home of apples.  

The Big Apple, however is located 20 minutes north at a place called Thulimbah.

We stopped over the road from the Big Apple at Sutton's Juice factory.  Not for the juices, but for the big apple pie, cinnamon ice cream and freshly whipped cream the hubby had heard so much about.

Hubby was in heaven.  Sorry, no pix.

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STANTHORPE CHEESE

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Cheese, crackers, condiments, freshly baked bread loaf, fruit & wine.  Our platter had it all!.  What an experience!

Stanthorpe Cheese is definitely a 'must do'.  

They also sold some interesting povidore with different mixes of flavours, so we couldn't resist but to buy the mango chutney, Eggplant Kassoundi and Whisky Marmalade, all made by Granite Belt Gourmet.

Say no more.  The photos below tell our story.

The Big Cow?...

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FLOWER ART

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We were holed up in our van for a few days here due to the Cyclone.  Thank goodness though, we didn't get a great deal of rain.  Just dreary weather.

So, the first opportunity that the weather looked like breaking up, even a bit of blue sky, and I was out with my camera, scouting for some macro flower photography.  

Here are the results.

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MAPS

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VIDEO - STANTHORPE

In this short Video we were in the calm before the storm.

As you can see, I promised later footage of when the Cyclone hit.

Well it didn't.  At least not in Stanthorpe.

So we experienced a few more days of gloomy weather with rainy patches and not much wind.

We escaped.

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